Nelson to Howard Dean: "See you in court! (Soon, I hope)"

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is filing a new motion in his lawsuit against national Democrats, seeking, he says, a "quick decision by a federal judge that (Democratic National Committee chair Howard) Dean and other political party bosses in Washington have violated the constitutional rights of millions of Florida voters."

Today's the deadline for Dean to respond to the lawsuit Nelson and Rep. Alcee Hastings filed earlier this month. They charge the DNC violated voters' rights when it stripped the state of its delegates to the 2008 nominating convention and barred presidential candidates from campaigning in the state. That move followed Florida's decision to move up its primary to Jan. 29.

The DNC has said it has the right to set its own party rules and was seeking to restore order to a chaotic calendar.

A draft copy of the new motion says that "For the right to vote to have any meaning, Florida's electoral system requires not only that the votes be counted on election day, but that election ballots result in votes that are going to be counted at the major parties' convention through the presence of delegates.

"Thus, neither the constitution nor Florida's election law will tolerate an expensive, publicly funded and operated presidential primary that would be an exercise in futility."